Personal celery

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a celery plant ( Apium graveolens  L. dulce) carrying a genetic trait that leads to a shorter petiole and a shorter total plant length at mature harvest stage as compared to a celery plant not carrying the said genetic trait, wherein said genetic trait is as present in the genome of plants grown from seed of which a representative sample was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41902.

RELATED APPLICATIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application claims priority to EP patent application Serial No.12160783.2 filed 22 Mar. 2012.

The foregoing applications, and all documents cited therein or duringtheir prosecution (“appin cited documents”) and all documents cited orreferenced in the appin cited documents, and all documents cited orreferenced herein (“herein cited documents”), and all documents cited orreferenced in herein cited documents, together with any manufacturer'sinstructions, descriptions, product specifications, and product sheetsfor any products mentioned herein or in any document incorporated byreference herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference, and maybe employed in the practice of the invention. More specifically, allreferenced documents are incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each individual document was specifically and individually indicatedto be incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new type of celery (Apium graveolensL. dulce). The invention further relates to seeds of the plant and topropagation material for the plant and progeny of the plant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Apium graveolens is a plant species belonging to the Apiaceae family,which comprises two important vegetable crops, namely celery andceleriac. In Apium graveolens L. dulce (celery, also known as stalkcelery) the plant part that is typically harvested for consumption isthe petiole. The petiole carries a leaf blade, and a petiole and itsleaf blade together form a leaf of the celery plant. Typically, celeryplants comprise multiple leaves. The leaves of celery are compoundleaves that are composed of a petiole or leaf stem, and a fullysubdivided leaf blade. The leaf blade consists of several pairs ofleaflets and ends in a terminal leaflet.

A single celery plant typically represents a large amount of biomass,and for some market segments this is often a too large portion for theconsumer. Celery is a vegetable that has a relatively large amount ofunusable parts. On average 30% of the plant length is not sold, but cutoff as waste.

Another important parameter for celery plants is the tastiness of thepetioles. Commercially it would be a great advantage to provide a tastycelery plant that is smaller in size, such that it corresponds to asmaller portion that is more suitable for consumption by singleconsumers or small households. Currently the market offers e.g. thetender hearts of normal-sized celery plants to accommodate theconsumer's wish for smaller-sized portions of fresh celery. However,this strategy involves the removal of the outer leaves, which requiresadditional labour. Another possible strategy would be to harvest normalcelery plants at an immature stage, and sell them when they are stillsmaller than normal mature plants. However, such immature celery plantsusually have a poor flavour, as many taste components typically onlydevelop during maturation of a vegetable plant, resulting in the fullflavour when the crop is mature. Thus, immature celery plants do nottaste as well as larger, mature celery plants.

Citation or identification of any document in this application is not anadmission that such document is available as prior art to the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a newtype of celery that remains much smaller in size at the matureharvesting time than celery plants of the prior art which are grownunder comparable conditions.

The present invention thus provides a celery plant of the species Apiumgraveolens L. dulce, carrying a genetic trait that leads to a shorterpetiole and a shorter total plant length at mature harvest stage ascompared to a celery plant not carrying the said genetic trait, whereinsaid genetic trait is obtainable by introgression from a plant grownfrom seed of which a representative sample was deposited on 24 Nov.,2011 with the NCIMB (NCIMB Ltd., Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate,Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB21 9YA Scotland, UK) under accession number NCIMB41902.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to not encompass withinthe invention any previously known product, process of making theproduct, or method of using the product such that Applicants reserve theright and hereby disclose a disclaimer of any previously known product,process, or method. It is further noted that the invention 3 0 does notintend to encompass within the scope of the invention any product,process, or making of the product or method of using the product, whichdoes not meet the written description and enablement requirements of theUSPTO (35 U.S.C. §112, first paragraph) or the EPO (Article 83 of theEPC), such that Applicants reserve the right and hereby disclose adisclaimer of any previously described product, process of making theproduct, or method of using the product.

It is noted that in this disclosure and particularly in the claimsand/or paragraphs, terms such as “comprises”, “comprised”, “comprising”and the like can have the meaning attributed to it in U.S. Patent law;e.g., they can mean “includes”, “included”, “including”, and the like;and that terms such as “consisting essentially of and “consistsessentially of have the meaning ascribed to them in U.S. Patent law,e.g., they allow for elements not explicitly recited, but excludeelements that are found in the prior art or that affect a basic or novelcharacteristic of the invention.

These and other embodiments are disclosed or are obvious from andencompassed by, the following Detailed Description.

Deposits

The Deposits with NCIMB Ltd, Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate,Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK, under deposit accession number 41902were made pursuant to the terms of the Budapest Treaty. Upon issuance ofa patent, all restrictions upon the deposit will be removed, and thedeposit is intended to meet the requirements of 37 CFR §§ 1.801-1.809.The deposit will be maintained in the depository for a period of 30years, or 5 years after the last request, or for the effective life ofthe patent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if necessaryduring that period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a marketable celery plant of the invention (right) next toa marketable conventional celery plant (left), both at mature harveststage.

FIG. 2 illustrates the description of a celery leaf according to UPOVTG/82/4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention thus provides a celery plant of the species Apiumgraveolens L. dulce, carrying a genetic trait that leads to a shorterpetiole and a shorter total plant length at mature harvest stage ascompared to a celery plant not carrying the said genetic trait, whereinsaid genetic trait is obtainable by introgression from a plant grownfrom seed of which a representative sample was deposited on 24 Nov.,2011 with the NCIMB (NCIMB Ltd., Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate,Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB21 9YA Scotland, UK) under accession number NCIMB41902.

Plants grown from the deposited seeds do not correspond to thedefinition of a plant variety, as they do not comply with the DUScriteria (Distinct, Uniform, Stable) for all traits.

The plant of the invention may be sold in its entirety, without the needto remove leaves and to create waste prior to sale. The consumer maypurchase a maximal portion of the celery plant, which is much smallerand more convenient than a conventionally sized celery plant. Such asmall celery plant is ideal for small households or single consumers. Itis effectively a “personal celery”. When compared to prior art celeryplants of the same length that are harvested at an immature stage, thetaste of the personal celery is much better. Celery plants of theinvention are much smaller when harvested at maturity than prior artcelery plants that are harvested at maturity. “Maturity” as used hereinis intended to mean that plants of the invention are fully grown andhave adult dimensions (i.e. the dimensions of petioles and leaves wouldnot increase further if the plants would be left unharvested for aprolonged period of time). In addition, they may have more, stronger andthicker petioles than immature plants of the same size lacking the traitof the invention. Maturity also may comprise a good taste.

“Introgression” as used herein is intended to mean introduction of atrait into a plant not carrying the trait by means of crossing andselection in the first generation in which the trait becomes visible.For a dominant trait this is in the F1 generation of a cross between aplant with the trait and a plant without the trait. For a recessivetrait this is suitably the F2 generation.

The invention relates to a celery plant carrying the genetic determinantas present in the genome of seeds deposited as NCIMB 41902, whichdeterminant is obtainable by introgression from a plant grown from seed,a representative sample of which was deposited with the NCIMB underaccession number NCIMB 41902.

It should be noted that if the selection criterion (or criteria) is (orare) clearly defined, the skilled person will be able to identify thedescendants that carry the trait in any further generation. With respectto the determinant of the invention that underlies the smaller size of acelery plant of the present invention, plants that carry the determinantmay suitably be identified among descendants from a cross between aplant not carrying the determinant, and a plant that does carry the saiddeterminant and of which representative seed was deposited underaccession numbers NCIMB 41902, by growing F2 plants from seeds that arethe result from the initial cross and a selfing step, and selectingplants showing the desired trait. The said genetic trait is inherited incelery plants in a recessive fashion, as illustrated by example 2.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a celery plant carrying agenetic trait that leads to a shorter petiole and a shorter total plantlength at mature harvest stage as compared to a celery plant notcarrying the said genetic trait, wherein said genetic trait isobtainable by:

-   -   a) growing plants from seed that was deposited with the NCIMB        under accession number NCIMB 41902;    -   b) crossing the said plant with a plant not showing the trait to        obtain an F1 population;    -   c) selfing plants from the F1 to obtain an F2 population;    -   d) selecting plants that have shorter petioles and a shorter        total plant length at mature harvest stage as being plants of        the invention; and    -   e) optionally repeating steps b) to d)

Plants of the invention are significantly smaller at mature harveststage than existing celery types (as illustrated by Table 1 and FIG. 1),and in a preferred embodiment they have a good taste. The advantagethereof is that celery plants of the invention—herein referred to as“personal celery plants”—are particularly suited for single consumers orsmall households, for whom existing celery plants are often too large tobe conveniently stored and/or timely consumed. The commercial use ofpersonal celery plants thus leads to less waste during the production,packaging, sale and consumption processes.

The “petiole length” is the distance between the leaf base and the firstjoint as is indicated in FIG. 2 with the numeral 16. The “leaf length”is the total mature leaf length of individual leaves, which is the leaflength at the stage of full leaf expansion, as is indicated in FIG. 2with the numeral 8. The “total plant length” is the total length of acelery plant prior to the removal of the individual leaves.

Celery plants of the invention are obtainable by crossing a first celeryparent plant with a second celery parent plant, wherein one of theparents is a plant grown from seed of which a representative sample wasdeposited with the NCIMB under deposit accession number NCIMB 41902 or aprogeny plant thereof, and selecting for plants that have shorterpetioles and a shorter total plant length than a celery plant notcarrying the said genetic determinant at maturity.

In this respect the shorter petioles in particular are petioles shorterthan 19 cm, preferably shorter than 17 cm, more preferably shorter than15 cm, even more preferably shorter than 13 cm, even more preferablyshorter than 11 cm, most preferably shorter than 9 cm. In this respectthe shorter total plant length in particular is a total plant lengthshorter than 37 cm, preferably shorter than 36 cm or shorter than 35 cm,more preferably shorter than 34 cm or shorter than 33 cm, even morepreferably shorter than 32 cm, most preferably shorter than 31 cm.

The petioles of plants of the invention are solid and crunchy at matureharvest stage.

The invention relates to celery plants in all stages of development,even though the characteristics recited above may not be perceivable inall developmental stages. The plant does however contain in alldevelopmental stages the genetic information that leads to the saidcharacteristics in the ready-to-harvest stage.

The invention furthermore relates to a cell of a celery plant asclaimed. Such a cell may be either in isolated form, or may be part ofthe complete celery plant or parts thereof, and then such a cell stillconstitutes a cell of the invention, because such a cell harbours in itsgenetic constitution the genetic information that leads to the saidcharacteristics. Each cell of celery plants of the invention carries thegenetic information that leads to phenotypic expression of said trait.Such a cell of the invention may also be a regenerable cell that may beused to regenerate a new celery plant of the invention.

The invention also relates to tissue of a plant as claimed. The tissuemay be undifferentiated tissue or already differentiated tissue.Undifferentiated tissues are for example stem tips or other meristematictissues, anthers, petals, pollen. They may be used in micropropagationto obtain new plantlets that are grown into new plants of the invention.The tissue may also be grown from a cell of the invention.

According to a further aspect the invention relates to seeds of a plantas claimed. Although the seeds do not show the characteristics of thecelery of the invention, they harbour the genetic information that—whena plant is grown from the seeds—makes this plant a plant of theinvention.

The invention also relates to progeny of the plants, cells, tissues andseeds of the invention. Such progeny may in itself be plants, cells,tissues or seeds.

As used herein the word “progeny” is intended to mean the first and allfurther descendants from a cross with a plant of the invention thatshows shorter petioles and a shorter total plant length as compared to acelery plant not carrying the genetic determinant of the invention.Progeny of the invention are descendants of any cross with a plant ofthe invention that carries the determinant that leads to shorterpetioles and a shorter total plant length. In one embodiment, theprogeny plant has the novel and inventive combination of morphologicaland physiological characteristics of the claimed plant, representativeseed of which was deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41902. Suchprogeny has the same characteristics as claimed for the plant of theinvention and may be modified in one or more other characteristics. Suchadditional modifications are for example effected by mutagenesis or bytransformation with a transgene. “Progeny” also encompasses plants thatcarry the determinant of the invention and that are obtained from otherplants or progeny of plants of the invention by vegetative propagationor multiplication.

The invention further relates to seed of the claimed plant and to partsof the plant that are suitable for sexual reproduction. Such parts arefor example selected from the group consisting of microspores, pollen,ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs and egg cells. In addition, the inventionrelates to parts of the plant that are suitable for vegetativereproduction, in particular cuttings, roots, stems, cells, protoplasts.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the invention provides atissue culture of a plant carrying the genetic determinant of theinvention. The tissue culture may comprise regenerable cells. Suchtissue culture may be derived from leaves, pollen, embryos, cotyledons,hypocotyls, meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers, flowers,seeds and stems. The tissue culture may be regenerated into a plantcarrying the genetic determinant of the invention. Suitably aregenerated plant expresses the phenotype of shorter petioles and ashorter total plant length as compared to celery plants not carrying thegenetic determinant.

According to another aspect of the present invention, plants areprovided that have all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of plants of the invention, representative seed of whichwas deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41902, which plants are grownfrom seeds of the plant of the invention or regenerated from partsthereof, or from a tissue culture.

The term “genetic determinant” as used herein encompasses one or moregenes or alleles. These terms are used interchangeably. The “genetictrait” is the trait or characteristic that is conferred by the geneticdeterminant. The genetic trait may be identified phenotypically.However, also plant stages in which no phenotypic observation ispossible do carry the genetic information that leads to the genetictrait. “Trait” or “phenotypic trait” may be used instead of “genetictrait”.

The trait of the invention as used herein is referred to as shorterpetioles and a shorter total plant length. The mention of this trait isalways intended to be compared to a reference. Therefore, as usedherein, these are shorter petioles and a shorter total plant length ascompared to celery plants not carrying the genetic determinant of theinvention.

In the absence of molecular markers, equivalence of genetic determinantsmay be determined by an allelism test. To perform an allelism test,material that is homozygous for the known determinant is crossed withmaterial that is homozygous for the phenotypic trait to be tested. Whenno segregation for the trait to be observed is present in the F2 of thecross, the genetic determinants resulting in the phenotypic trait havebeen proven to be the same. When more than one gene is responsible for acertain trait, and an allelism test is done to determine equivalence,the skilled person doing the test has to ascertain that all relevantgenes are present in a homozygous state, in order for the test to workproperly.

The invention furthermore relates to hybrid seed and to a method ofproducing hybrid seed, which may comprise crossing a first parent plantwith a second parent plant and harvesting the resulting hybrid seed,wherein said first parent plant and/or said second parent plant is aplant as claimed. Suitably a hybrid plant expresses the phenotype ofshorter petioles and a shorter total plant length as compared to celeryplants not carrying the genetic determinant. The invention also relatesto inbreds and doubled haploids.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a celery plant which maycomprise the trait of the invention, which plant is obtainable by:

-   -   a) crossing a plant, representative seed of which was deposited        with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41902, with a plant        not showing the trait to obtain an F1 population;    -   b) selfing plants from the F1 population to obtain an F2        population;    -   c) selecting in said F2 for plants that have the trait of the        invention; and    -   d) optionally performing one or more additional rounds of        selfing or crossing, and subsequently selecting, for the trait.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to celery plants that carry thedeterminant of the invention and that have acquired said determinant byintroduction of the genetic information that is responsible for thetrait from a suitable source, either through conventional breeding, orthrough genetic modification, in particular through cisgenesis ortransgenesis. Cisgenesis is genetic modification of plants with anatural gene, coding for an (agricultural) trait, from the crop plantitself or from a sexually compatible donor plant. Transgenesis isgenetic modification of a plant with a gene from a non-crossablespecies, or with a synthetic gene.

In one embodiment, the source from which the genetic information isacquired is formed by plants grown from seeds of which a representativesample was deposited under accession number NCIMB 41902, or from thedeposited seeds or sexual or vegetative descendants thereof. Theinvention also relates to the germplasm of plants of the invention. Thegermplasm is constituted by all inherited characteristics of an organismand—according to the invention—encompasses at least the trait of theinvention.

The invention also relates to the celery petioles (also known as sticksor stalks) that are produced by the plants of the invention. Inaddition, the invention relates to parts of the leaves and processedproducts produced from the leaves, and to the entire marketable celeryplant without the roots. A marketable celery plant that carries thetrait of the invention is much smaller than any marketable celery plantin the prior art, resulting in a niche market for single consumers andsmall households, a higher convenience, and less waste.

The trait of the invention is recognizable in a celery plant when thepetioles are significantly shorter than those of celery plants that arenot according to the invention, and when the total plant length issignificantly shorter than those of celery plants that are not accordingto the invention. Significantly shorter or short petioles means, inincreasing order of preference, at least 20% shorter, at least 25%shorter, at least 30% shorter, at least 35% shorter, at least 40%shorter, at least 45% shorter, at least 50% shorter, at least 55%shorter, at least 60% shorter, at least 65% shorter, at least 70%shorter, at least 75% shorter, at least 80% shorter at mature harveststage, when compared to a celery plant not carrying the geneticdeterminant of the invention. For optimal comparison, celery plants ofthe invention and other celery plants to which they are compared need tobe planted at similar distances (at a similar plant density), becausewhen celery plants grow closely together they usually grow taller thannormally. In addition, comparison is suitably made with an isogeniccelery plant that differs only from the celery plants of the inventionin the absence of the genetic determinant underlying the trait of theinvention.

In one aspect the invention relates to a method for production of acelery plant which may comprise shorter petioles and a shorter totalplant length, which may comprise:

-   -   a) crossing a plant which may comprise the genetic determinant        that leads to expression of shorter petioles and a shorter total        plant length with another plant;    -   b) selfing the resulting F1 for obtaining F2 plants;    -   c) selecting plants which may comprise shorter petioles and/a        shorter total plant length in the F2 generation;    -   d) optionally performing one or more additional rounds of        selfing or crossing, and subsequently selecting for a plant        which may comprise shorter petioles and a shorter total plant        length.

It is clear that the parent that provides the trait of the invention isnot necessarily a plant grown directly from the deposited seeds. Theparent may also be a progeny plant from the deposited seed, or a progenyplant from seeds that are identified to have the trait of the inventionby other means.

In one aspect, the invention relates to a method for production of acelery plant which may comprise shorter petioles and a shorter totalplant length, which may comprise:

-   -   a) crossing a plant which may comprise the genetic determinant        that leads to expression of shorter petioles and a shorter total        plant length with another plant;    -   b) optionally backcrossing the resulting F1 with the preferred        parent;    -   c) selecting for plants which may comprise shorter petioles and        a shorter total plant length in the F2 generation;    -   d) optionally performing one or more additional rounds of        selfing or crossing, and subsequently selecting for a plant        which may comprise shorter petioles and a shorter total plant        length.

The invention additionally provides a method of introducing a desiredtrait into a celery plant which may comprise shorter petioles and ashorter total plant length, which may comprise:

-   -   a) crossing a celery plant which may comprise shorter petioles        and a shorter total plant length, representative seed of which        were deposited with the NCIMB under deposit number NCIMB 41902,        with a second celery plant that may comprise a desired trait to        produce F1 progeny;    -   b) selecting an F1 progeny that may comprise shorter petioles        and a shorter total plant length and the desired trait;    -   c) crossing the selected F1 progeny with either parent, to        produce backcross progeny;    -   d) selecting backcross progeny which may comprise the desired        trait and shorter petioles and a shorter total plant length; and    -   e) optionally repeating steps (c) and (d) one or more times in        succession to produce selected fourth or higher backcross        progeny that may comprise the desired trait and shorter petioles        and a shorter total plant length. The invention includes a        celery plant produced by this method.

In one embodiment selection for plants which may comprise shorterpetioles and a shorter total plant length is done in the F1.Alternatively, selection for the trait of the invention is started inthe F2 of a cross or alternatively of a backcross. In another embodimentselection for plants which may comprise shorter petioles and a shortertotal plant length is started in the F3 or a later generation.

In one embodiment the plant which may comprise the genetic determinantis a plant of an inbred line, a hybrid, a doubled haploid, or of asegregating population. The invention further provides a method for theproduction of a celery plant which may comprise shorter petioles and ashorter total plant length by using a doubled haploid generationtechnique to generate a doubled haploid line, which may comprise thesaid shorter petioles and a shorter total plant length.

The invention furthermore relates to hybrid seed and to a method forproducing hybrid seed, which may comprise crossing a first parent plantwith a second parent plant and harvesting the resulting hybrid seed,wherein said first parent plant and/or said second parent plant is aplant of the invention as claimed.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a method for producing ahybrid celery plant which may comprise crossing a first parent celeryplant with a second parent celery plant and harvesting the resultinghybrid celery seed, in which the first parent celery plant and/or thesecond parent celery plant may comprise shorter petioles and a shortertotal plant length.

The invention also relates to a method for the production of a celeryplant which may comprise shorter petioles and a shorter total plantlength, by using a seed that may comprise a genetic determinant in itsgenome that leads to shorter petioles and a shorter total plant lengthfor growing the said celery plant. The seeds are suitably seeds of whicha representative sample was deposited with the NCIMB under depositnumber NCIMB 41902, or seeds that carry the same or essentially the samegenetic determinant as the deposited seeds.

The invention also relates to a method for seed production which maycomprise growing celery plants from seeds of which a representativesample was deposited with the NCIMB under deposit number NCIMB 41902,allowing the plants to produce seeds, and harvesting those seeds.Production of the seeds is suitably done by crossing or selfing.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a method for the productionof a celery plant which may comprise shorter petioles and a shortertotal plant length by using tissue culture. The invention furthermorerelates to a method for the production of a celery plant which maycomprise shorter petioles and a shorter total plant length by usingvegetative reproduction. In another embodiment, the invention relates toa method for the production of a celery plant which may comprise shorterpetioles and a shorter total plant length by using a method for geneticmodification to introgress shorter petioles and a shorter total plantlength into the celery plant. Genetic modification may comprisetransgenic modification or transgenesis, using a gene from anon-crossable species or a synthetic gene, and cisgenic modification orcisgenesis, using a natural gene, coding for an (agricultural) trait,from the crop plant itself or from a sexually compatible donor plant.The gene to be introgressed is suitably the gene underlying the geneticdeterminant of the invention.

The invention also relates to a breeding method for the development ofcelery plants that may comprise shorter petioles and a shorter totalplant length wherein germplasm which may comprise the geneticdeterminant underlying the shorter petioles and a shorter total plantlength of plants of the invention is used. Representative seed of saidplant which may comprise the genetic determinant and beingrepresentative for the germplasm was deposited with the NCIMB underdeposit number NCIMB 41902.

In a further embodiment the invention relates to a method for theproduction of a celery plant which may comprise shorter petioles and ashorter total plant length wherein progeny or propagation material of aplant which may comprise the genetic determinant conferring said shorterpetioles and a shorter total plant length is used as a source tointrogress shorter petioles and a shorter total plant length intoanother celery plant. Representative seed of said plant which maycomprise the genetic determinant was deposited with the NCIMB underdeposit number NCIMB 41902. The invention provides preferably a celeryplant showing shorter petioles and a shorter total plant length, whichplant is obtainable by any of the methods herein described.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

The present invention will be further illustrated in the followingExamples which are given for illustration purposes only and are notintended to limit the invention in any way.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Characterization of Celery Plants of the Invention

Celery plants of the invention grown from seeds of NCIMB accession 41902were compared with existing celery plants. Table 1 shows the results ofthis comparison. FIG. 1 shows a marketable celery plant of the invention(right) next to a marketable conventional celery plant (left), both attheir mature harvest stage.

Table 1 shows a comparison of celery plants of the invention (NCIMB41902) to other celery plants (NCIMB 41513 and three commercial celeryvarieties: Victoria, Monterey and Tango). For each celery line allsticks and leaf blades of 10 plants were measured. The word “sticks” isherein used as a synonym for “petioles” or “leaf stalks”, and the word“stick” is typically used to specify the product after the leaf bladesare removed. The total weight of the 10 plants is indicated, along withthe total length of each plant, the average length of the sticks fromeach plant, the average length of the leaf blades from each plant, andthe average total leaf length.

The total plant length differs slightly from the average leaf lengthbecause it is measured from the tip of the longest leaf, before removalof individual leaves, and hence total plant length is usually slightlylonger than the average leaf length. The standard deviation of the sticklength (per plant) is also included. The length of the sticks is thedistance between the leaf base and the first joint as is indicated inFIG. 2 with the numeral 16. What was measured here is the mature stemlength, which is the stem length at the stage of full leaf expansion.

Celery plants of the invention show a smaller mature stem length and asmaller mature stem length distribution than celery plants that do notcarry the genetic determinant of the invention. A smaller mature stemlength distribution means that the differences between the lengths ofthe individual stems are small.

The leaf blade is the part of the leaf excluding the petiole, and thispart is indicated in FIG. 2 as (length 8) minus (length 16). The word“leaf blade” is synonymous to “subdivided leaf blade” or “blade”. Thebottom row of the sub-table for each individual celery line lists theaverage values (total plant length, average stick length and averageleaf blade length) for the 10 plants of the celery line that weremeasured.

It is clear from the results in Table 1 and from FIG. 1 that the celeryplants of the invention have significantly shorter petioles,significantly shorter total leaf lengths and a significantly shortertotal plant length at mature harvest stage than marketable celery plantsat mature harvest stage not carrying the genetic determinant of theinvention. Celery plants in the prior art have much longer petioles andleaves than celery plants of the invention. The average petiole (stick)length of prior art celery plants is (25.2±3.5) cm for Victoria, (24.5cm±3.2) for Monterey and (26.4±4.2) cm for Tango, compared to (9.8±0.8)cm for celery plants of the invention. The average total leaf length(=stick+leaf blade) of prior art celery plants is also much longer thanthat of celery plants of the present invention: the total leaf length ofVictoria is on average 61.6 cm, that of Monterey is 60.3 cm and that ofTango is 56.0 cm, compared to only 28.3 cm for celery plants of thepresent invention. The average total plant length of prior art celeryplants is 72.9 cm for Victoria, 69.6 cm for Monterey and 63.8 cm forTango, compared to 31.1 cm for celery plants of the present invention.

TABLE 1 Av- Average st. Av- Total # erage leaf dev. erage product sticksTotal stick blade stick total weight per length length length lengthleaf (kg) plant (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) length NCIMB 41902 (personal celery)plant 1 4.4 kg 8 33.0 9.8 20.2 0.8 30.0 plant 2 10 28.0 9.4 18.1 0.827.5 plant 3 11 31.0 9.4 16.9 0.8 26.3 plant 4 9 31.0 10.2 19.3 0.8 29.6plant 5 10 30.0 9.3 18.3 0.7 27.5 plant 6 9 31.5 10.2 19.4 0.8 29.6plant 7 10 30.0 9.9 16.9 0.9 26.8 plant 8 10 30.0 9.8 16.9 0.9 26.7plant 9 8 31.0 9.9 19.6 0.7 29.5 plant 10 8 35.0 10.3 19.7 1.1 30.0Average 31.1 9.8 18.5 0.8 28.3 NCIMB 41513 plant 1 5.8 kg 15 39.0 22.416.2 1.2 38.6 plant 2 18 38.5 21.5 14.7 1.0 36.2 plant 3 14 39.0 21.815.8 1.2 37.6 plant 4 14 42.0 23.1 17.5 1.4 40.6 plant 5 13 39.0 21.414.5 1.3 35.9 plant 6 14 38.0 21.2 15.3 1.1 36.5 plant 7 19 41.0 22.115.9 1.3 37.9 plant 8 15 39.0 21.7 14.5 1.3 36.2 plant 9 15 40.0 21.715.9 1.3 37.6 plant 10 16 39.5 20.5 14.5 2.4 35.0 Average 39.5 21.7 15.51.3 37.2 Victoria plant 1 8.6 kg 11 70.0 24.5 38.8 2.6 63.3 plant 2 1172.5 23.7 35.0 3.9 58.8 plant 3 11 76.0 26.3 38.5 3.3 64.8 plant 4 1371.0 23.3 35.6 2.5 59.0 plant 5 12 71.0 25.0 34.7 3.5 59.7 plant 6 1369.0 24.5 35.8 2.7 60.3 plant 7 12 69.5 23.6 36.5 2.9 60.1 plant 8 1375.0 27.3 37.0 4.8 64.3 plant 9 13 78.0 27.0 36.3 4.8 63.3  plant 10 1276.5 26.2 36.3 3.8 62.5 Average 72.9 25.2 36.5 3.5 61.6 Monterey plant 17.3 kg 10 68.0 24.0 35.1 3.1 59.1 plant 2 10 69.0 23.9 34.6 2.3 58.4plant 3 10 70.0 24.2 35.7 3.3 59.9 plant 4 10 68.0 24.2 35.7 3.2 59.9plant 5 11 68.0 23.6 35.6 3.0 59.2 plant 6 10 73.0 25.5 35.7 3.8 61.2plant 7 10 70.0 25.1 35.5 2.8 60.6 plant 8 9 72.0 25.5 37.8 4.1 63.3plant 9 8 69.0 24.6 34.9 3.9 59.5  plant 10 9 69.0 24.2 37.8 2.9 62.0Average 69.6 24.5 35.8 3.2 60.3 Tango plant 1 9.4 kg 11 66.0 25.3 31.03.9 56.3 plant 2 11 67.0 25.2 30.4 4.1 55.6 plant 3 11 64.0 26.3 28.54.0 54.8 plant 4 11 63.5 27.9 29.3 4.5 57.2 plant 5 10 66.0 26.8 31.93.7 58.7 plant 6 12 60.0 26.7 28.5 3.4 55.1 plant 7 11 62.0 25.9 29.03.9 54.9 plant 8 11 60.5 26.0 27.3 5.6 53.4 plant 9 10 64.0 25.2 31.64.7 56.8  plant 10 10 65.0 28.4 28.8 4.0 57.2 Average 63.8 26.4 29.6 4.256.0

The prior art celery plant termed “NCIMB 41513” in Table 1 was depositedwith NCIMB on 22 Oct. 2007 and carries a genetic trait (different fromthe genetic trait of the current invention) that leads to short leafblades and/or a more uniform distribution of stem lengths as compared tocelery plants not carrying the said genetic trait. Plants of NCIMB 41513have petioles with an average length of 21.7±1.3 cm, compared to 9.8±0.8cm for celery plants of the present invention, and the plants have anaverage total length of 39.5 cm, compared to 31.1 cm for celery plantsof the present invention.

Example 2 Introduction of the New Trait Into Other Celery Plants

Plants of the invention that were deposited under NCIMB accession number41902 were crossed with normal celery plants. The F2 progeny segregatedfor plants that showed the same characteristics as the parent plants ofNCIMB accession number 41902, and the trait of the invention segregatedin a recessive fashion. Further development of these plants resulted inlines with the same trait of the invention, as found in NCIMB accessionnumber 41902.

To further characterize the genetic basis of the trait of the invention,a celery plant of the invention was crossed to a normal celery plant,giving rise to an F1 population that did not phenotypically exhibit thetrait of the invention. This observation already demonstrated that thetrait of the invention is recessive in nature. An F1 plant from thiscross was subsequently backcrossed to a celery plant of the invention (arecurrent parent), which did show the phenotype of the invention. Fromthe progeny of this backcross 179 plants were grown to maturity, andtheir stick length (petiole length) was measured. It was observed thatthis population of progeny plants comprised plants of two distinct sizecategories. The first size category comprised 76 plants with a sticklength between 10 cm and 14 cm, and with an average stick length of(12.0±0.9) cm. The second size category comprised the remaining 103plants, which had a stick length between 19 cm and 32 cm, and an averagestick length of (24.1±2.7) cm.

In parallel, selfing of the recurrent parent (which was a celery plantof the invention, as deposited under NCIMB accession number 41902) wasperformed. From among the progeny of this selfing a population of 46celery plants was grown to maturity, and measurements revealed that theyhad stick lengths ranging from 10.5 cm to 13.5 cm, with an average sticklength of (12.2±0.7) cm.

It is therefore apparent that the first size category (which maycomprise 76 plants of the backcross population of 179 plants)corresponded to plants that phenotypically exhibited the trait of theinvention, i.e. they had the same characteristics as the plants of NCIMBaccession number 41902. The other size category corresponded to celeryplants with a wildtype stick length. The phenotype of the invention wasthus observed in 42.5% of the 179 progeny plants of the backcross.

Example 3 Biochemical Measurements

The concentration of various sugars was measured in plants of theinvention and in three prior art celery plants. It was found that celeryplants of the invention had a higher calculated sweetness index than theother celery varieties. A tasting panel perceived the celery plants ofthe invention as being particularly tasty, and had a significantlyhigher liking for celery plants of the invention than for commercialvarieties Imperial, Tango and Victoria. Generally, celery plants thatare more sweet and more crunchy are more appreciated by consumers.

The “calculated sweetness” or sweetness index is calculated as the sumof the concentrations of sucrose, mannitol, glucose and fructose, eachmultiplied by a specific sweetness factor. For sucrose this empiricalfactor is 1.0, for mannitol 0.6, for glucose 0.7, and for fructose 1.7.This index gives a numerical indication of the sweetness of the celeryas it is perceived by the average consumer.

TABLE 2 Sum Sum sugars + mannitol glucose fructose sucrose glc/frusugars mannitol calculated % Brix (g/100 ml) (g/100 ml) (g/100 ml)(g/100 ml) ratio (g/100 ml) (g/100 ml) sweetness personal celery 3.80.64 0.87 0.82 0.06 1.1 1.75 2.39 2.4 Imperial 3.6 0.63 0.74 0.68 0.001.1 1.42 2.05 2.1 Monterey 3.9 0.77 0.65 0.69 0.01 0.9 1.35 2.12 2.1Victoria 3.4 0.59 0.64 0.61 0.01 1.0 1.26 1.86 1.9

Table 2 shows biochemical measurements in celery plants of the invention(“personal celery”) in comparison to three commercial celery varieties.All measurements were done on fresh plant material at the mature harveststage (ready-to-eat sticks). Per celery line nine individual plants weremeasured, and Table 2 shows average values per celery line. Table 2illustrates that the calculated sweetness (and the total sugar content)of celery plants of the invention is higher than that of commercialcelery varieties.

The invention is further described by the following numbered paragraphs:

1. Celery plant (Apium graveolens L. dulce) carrying a genetic traitthat leads to a shorter petiole and a shorter total plant length atmature harvest stage as compared to a celery plant not carrying the saidgenetic trait, wherein said genetic trait is as present in the genome ofplants grown from seed of which a representative sample was depositedwith the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41902.

2. A celery plant of paragraph 1, wherein the trait is introgressed froma plant 2 5 grown from seed of which a representative sample wasdeposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41902.

3. A celery plant according to paragraph 1 or 2, obtainable by:

-   -   growing plants from seed that was deposited with the NCIMB under        accession number NCIMB 41902;    -   crossing the said plant with a plant not showing the trait to        obtain an F1 population;    -   selfing plants from the F1 to obtain an F2 population;    -   selecting plants that have a shorter petiole and a shorter total        plant length at mature harvest stage as being plants of the        invention; and    -   optionally repeating steps b) to d)

4. Celery plants of any one of paragraphs 1-3, wherein the shorterpetioles are in increasing order of preference at least 20% shorter, atleast 25% shorter, at least 30% shorter, at least 35% shorter, at least40% shorter, at least 45% shorter, at least 50% shorter, at least 55%shorter, at least 60% shorter, at least 65% shorter, at least 70%shorter, at least 75% shorter, at least 80% shorter at mature harveststage, when compared to a celery plant not carrying the geneticdeterminant of the invention.

5. Celery plants of any one of paragraphs 1-4, wherein at mature harveststage the shorter petioles are shorter than 19 cm, preferably shorterthan 17 cm, more preferably shorter than 15 cm, even more preferablyshorter than 13 cm, even more preferably shorter than 11 cm, mostpreferably shorter than 9 cm.

6. Celery plants of any one of paragraphs 1-5, wherein at mature harveststage the plants are shorter than 37 cm, preferably shorter than 36 cmor shorter than 35 cm, more preferably shorter than 34 cm or shorterthan 33 cm, even more preferably shorter than 32 cm, most preferablyshorter than 31 cm.

7. A celery plant of any one of the paragraphs 1-6, wherein the celeryplant is a hybrid, doubled haploid, or inbred.

8. Seed of a celery plant of any one of the paragraphs 1-7.

9. Propagation material suitable for producing a plant of any one of theparagraphs 1-9, wherein the propagation material is suitable for sexualreproduction, and is in particular selected from microspores, pollen,ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs and egg cells, or is suitable forvegetative reproduction, and is in particular selected from cuttings,roots, stems, cells, protoplasts, or is suitable for tissue cultures ofregenerable cells, and is in particular selected from leaves, pollen,embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls, meristematic cells, roots, root tips,anthers, flowers, seeds and stems, wherein a plant produced from thepropagation material has short petioles and a short total leaf lengththan a celery plant of the same age not carrying the said geneticdeterminant.

10. A celery plant produced from the propagation material of paragraph9, which plant has short petioles and a short total leaf length ascompared to a celery plant not carrying the said genetic determinant.

11. Progeny of a plant of any one of the paragraphs 1-8 and 10, whereinthe progeny plant has short petioles and a short total leaf length ascompared to a celery plant not carrying the said genetic determinant.

12. Food product, comprising the stalks of a celery plant of any one ofthe paragraphs 1-7, or parts thereof.

Having thus described in detail preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, it is to be understood that the invention defined by theabove paragraphs is not to be limited to particular details set forth inthe above description as many apparent variations thereof are possiblewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A celery plant (Apium graveolens L. dulce)comprising a genetic trait that leads to a shorter petiole and a shortertotal plant length at mature harvest stage as compared to a celery plantnot carrying the said genetic trait, wherein said genetic trait is aspresent in the genome of plants grown from seed of which arepresentative sample was deposited with the NCIMB under accessionnumber NCIMB
 41902. 2. The celery plant as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe trait is introgressed from a plant grown from seed of which arepresentative sample was deposited with the NCIMB under accessionnumber NCIMB
 41902. 3. The celery plant as claimed in claim 1,obtainable by: growing plants from seed that was deposited with theNCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41902; crossing the said plant with aplant not showing the trait to obtain an F1 population; selfing plantsfrom the F1 to obtain an F2 population; selecting plants that have ashorter petiole and a shorter total plant length at mature harvest stageas being plants of the invention; and optionally repeating steps b) tod)
 4. The celery plants as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shorterpetioles are in increasing order of preference at least 20% shorter, atleast 25% shorter, at least 30% shorter, at least 35% shorter, at least40% shorter, at least 45% shorter, at least 50% shorter, at least 55%shorter, at least 60% shorter, at least 65% shorter, at least 70%shorter, at least 75% shorter, at least 80% shorter at mature harveststage, when compared to a celery plant not carrying the geneticdeterminant of the invention.
 5. The celery plants as claimed in claim1, wherein at mature harvest stage the shorter petioles are shorter than19 cm, preferably shorter than 17 cm, more preferably shorter than 15cm, even more preferably shorter than 13 cm, even more preferablyshorter than 11 cm, most preferably shorter than 9 cm.
 6. The celeryplants as claimed in claim 1, wherein at mature harvest stage the plantsare shorter than 37 cm, preferably shorter than 36 cm or shorter than 35cm, more preferably shorter than 34 cm or shorter than 33 cm, even morepreferably shorter than 32 cm, most preferably shorter than 31 cm. 7.The celery plant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the celery plant is ahybrid, doubled haploid, or inbred.
 8. A seed of a celery plant asclaimed in claim
 1. 9. Propagation material suitable for producing aplant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the propagation material issuitable for sexual reproduction, and is in particular selected frommicrospores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs and egg cells, or issuitable for vegetative reproduction, and is in particular selected fromcuttings, roots, stems, cells, protoplasts, or is suitable for tissuecultures of regenerable cells, and is in particular selected fromleaves, pollen, embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls, meristematic cells,roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, seeds and stems, wherein a plantproduced from the propagation material has short petioles and a shorttotal leaf length than a celery plant of the same age not carrying thesaid genetic determinant.
 10. A celery plant produced from thepropagation material as claimed in claim 9, which plant has shortpetioles and a short total leaf length as compared to a celery plant notcarrying the said genetic determinant.
 11. A progeny of a plant asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the progeny plant has short petioles and ashort total leaf length as compared to a celery plant not carrying thesaid genetic determinant.
 12. A food product, comprising the stalks of acelery plant as claimed in claim 1, or parts thereof.